A method and apparatus for providing a three step air bearing with improved fly height performance is disclosed. The slider includes a funnel structure for directing air flow to a predetermined location toward a trailing edge of the slider and a collection structure for gathering air flow at the predetermined location. The slider is formed using three etch depths. A crossrail and side rails may be provided. The elements of the slider form five negative pressure areas to provide improved air bearing stiffness and minimize fly height sigma performance. The collection structure includes angled sides and the side rails further include trailing ABS side angles, wherein the trailing ABS side angles and the angled sides of the collection structure directing air flow around the collection structure to prevent contamination buildup.
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15. A slider for a magnetic storage device comprising: a crossrail having a top surface formed at a first etch depth, the crossrail being disposed along a leading edge of the slider;
a first funnel structure formed of upstanding converging surfaces above the first etch depth on the crossrail, the upstanding converging surfaces of the first funnel structure configured for directing air flow between the converging surfaces and toward a predetermined location proximate to a trailing edge of the slider; and a collection structure disposed proximate the trailing edge of a slider, the collection structure including a second funnel structure having upstanding converging surfaces configured for gathering air flow from the first funnel structure which has been directed to the predetermined location.
1. A slider for a magnetic storage device, comprising:
a crossrail having a top surface formed at a first etch depth, the crossrail being disposed along a leading edge of the slider;
a first funnel structure formed of upstanding converging surfaces above the first etch depth on the crossrail, the upstanding converging surfaces of the first funnel structure configured for directing air flow between the converging surfaces and toward a predetermined location proximate to a trailing edge of the slider; and
a collection structure disposed proximate the trailing edge of the slider, the collection structure having a second funnel structure having upstanding converging surfaces configured for gathering air flow from the first funnel structure which has been directed to the predetermined location.
26. A method for providing an air bearing pad with improved roll angle sigma, comprising:
forming a slider;
forming a crossrail having a top surface formed at a first etch depth, the crossrail being disposed along a leading edge of the slider;
forming a first funnel structure of upstanding converging surfaces above the first etch depth on the crossrail, the upstanding converging surfaces of the first funnel structure formed at a second etch depth;
configuring the first funnel structure for directing airflow between converging surfaces and toward a predetermined location proximate to a trailing edge of the slider;
forming a collection structure disposed proximate the trailing edge of the slider and having a second funnel structure having upstanding converging surfaces; and
configuring the second funnel structure for gathering airflow from the first funnel structure which has been directed to the predetermined location.
25. A magnetic storage system, comprising
at least one magnetic storage medium;
a motor for moving the at least one magnetic storage medium;
a slider having a magnetic head mounted thereon for reading and writing data on the at least one magnetic storage medium; and
an actuator, coupled to the slider, for positioning the slider relative to the at least one magnetic storage medium;
wherein the slider further comprises: a crossrail having a top surface formed at a first etch depth, the crossrail being disposed along a leading edge of the slider; a first funnel structure formed of upstanding converging surfaces above the first etch depth on the crossrail, the upstanding converging surfaces of the first funnel structure configured for directing air flow between the converging surfaces and toward a predetermined location proximate to a trailing edge of the slider; and a collection structure disposed proximate the trailing edge of the slider, the collection structure including a second funnel structure having upstanding converging surfaces configured for gathering air flow from the first funnel structure which has been directed to the predetermined location.
24. A magnetic storage system, comprising
at least one magnetic storage medium;
a motor for moving the at least one magnetic storage medium;
a slider having a magnetic head mounted thereon for reading and writing data on the at least one magnetic storage medium; and
an actuator, coupled to the slider, for positioning the slider relative to the at least one magnetic storage medium;
wherein the slider further comprises
a crossrail having a top surface formed at a first etch depth, the crossrail being disposed along a leading edge of the slider;
a first funnel structure formed of upstanding converging surfaces above the first etch depth on the crossrail, the upstanding converging surfaces of the first funnel structure configured for directing air flow between the converging surfaces and toward a predetermined location proximate to a trailing edge of the slider; and
a collection structure disposed proximate the trailing edge of the slider, the collection structure having a second funnel structure having upstanding converging surfaces configured for gathering air flow from the first funnel structure which has been directed to the predetermined location.
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1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates in general to air bearing pads for magnetic storage devices, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for providing a three step air bearing with improved fly height performance
2. Description of Related Art
Fixed magnetic storage systems are now commonplace as a main non-volatile storage in modern personal computers, workstations, and portable computers. Storage systems are now capable of storing gigabyte quantities of digital data, even when implemented in portable computers.
Magnetic recording systems that utilize magnetic disk and tape drives constitute the main form of data storage and retrieval in present-day computer and data processing systems. Many important advances have been made that provide higher data density and thus increased storage capacities for storage systems. These advances include faster access speeds and faster access times resulting in a greater bandwidth of data communicated to and from the storage systems. Advances have also been made by greatly reducing the size and weight of the storage systems, resulting in the availability of ultra-light portable computers having state-of-the art capabilities and performance.
A disk drive is one example of a magnetic storage system. A disk drive storage system, for example, uses a rotatable disk with concentric data tracks containing information, a head for reading and/or writing data onto the various tracks, and an actuator connected to a sensor for moving the sensor to a desired track and maintaining the sensor over the track centerline during read and write operations. The sensor is suspended in close proximity to a recording medium. For example, the sensor may be suspended over a magnetic disk having a plurality of concentric tracks. Another type of magnetic storage system includes a magnetic tape system. However, storage systems are not limited merely to the above-mentioned magnetic storage systems.
Disk drive storage systems utilize thin film head designs that are mostly variations of a merged design or a piggyback design. The merged design, as well as the piggyback design, places a write element atop a read sensor. In these dual-element designs, an inductive coil element used for writing and a magnetoresistive (MR) element used for reading are spaced apart from one another in a direction perpendicular to the trailing end of the merged head.
In the recording process, information is written and stored as magnetization patterns on the magnetic recording medium. Scanning a write head over the medium and energizing the write head with appropriate current waveforms accomplish this recording process. In a read-back process, scanning a magnetoresistive (MR) sensor over the medium retrieves the stored information. This MR read head sensor intercepts magnetic flux from the magnetization patterns on the recording medium and converts the magnetic flux into electrical signals, which are then detected and decoded.
There are typically a plurality of disks stacked on a hub that is rotated by a disk drive spindle motor. A housing supports the drive motor and head actuator and surrounds the head and disk to provide a substantially sealed environment for the head-disk interface. The head carrier is typically an air-bearing slider that rides on a bearing of air above the disk surface when the disk is rotating at its operational speed. The slider is maintained in very close proximity to the disk surface by a relatively fragile suspension that connects the slider to the actuator. The spacing between the slider and the disk surface is called the flying height and its precise value is critical to the proper function of the reading and writing process.
The inductive write head and MR read head may be patterned, for example, on the trailing end of the slider, which is the portion of the slider that flies closest to the disk surface. An important factor affecting areal density is the distance between the transducer and the recording surface, referred to as the fly height. It is desirable to fly the transducer very close to the medium to enhance transition detection. Some fly height stability is achieved with proper suspension loading and by shaping the air bearing slider surface (ABS) for desirable aerodynamic characteristics. To achieve such results, the slider may be biased toward the disk surface by a small spring force from the suspension, or “self-loaded” to the disk surface by means of a “negative-pressure” air-bearing surface on the slider.
Another important factor affecting fly height is the slider's resistance to changing conditions. An air bearing slider is subjected to a variety of changing external conditions during normal operation. Changing conditions affecting fly height include, for example, change in the relative air speed and direction, and variations in temperature. If the transducer fly height does not stay constant during changing conditions, data transfer between the transducer and the recording medium may be adversely affected. Fly height is further affected by physical characteristics of the slider such as the shape of the ABS. Careful rail shaping, for example, will provide some resistance to changes in air flow.
As can be envisioned, it is desired to minimize variation in head clearance or flying height. However, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to achieve this lower fly height due to inherent limitations of slider and media process consistency. Improved slider designs are therefore desired that can account for these inherent process limitations while providing very low and stable flying heights. No solution provides improvement to altitude, protrusion and speed performance as much as a three-step air bearing surface design. Yet, a three step air bearing in itself is not sufficient to provide the required fly height sigma and roll stiffness.
It can be seen that there is a need for a method and apparatus for providing a three step air bearing with improved fly height performance.
To overcome the limitations described above, and to overcome other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification, the present invention discloses a method and apparatus for providing a three step air bearing with improved fly height performance.
The present invention solves the above-described problems by providing an air bearing design that funnels and collections air flow to improve dynamic performance. Three etch steps are used in forming the air bearing design.
A slider in accordance with the principles of an embodiment of the present invention includes a funnel structure disposed toward a leading edge of the slider for directing air flow to a predetermined location toward a trailing edge of the slider and a collection structure disposed proximate the trailing edge of the slider for gathering air flow at the predetermined location.
In another embodiment of the present invention, another slider design is provided. This slider includes a funnel structure disposed toward a leading edge of the slider for directing air flow to a predetermined location toward a trailing edge of the slider.
In another embodiment of the present invention, another slider design is provided. This slider includes a collection structure disposed proximate the trailing edge of the slider for gathering air flow at the predetermined location.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a magnetic storage system is provided. The magnetic storage system includes at least one magnetic storage medium, a motor for moving the at least one magnetic storage medium, a slider having a magnetic head mounted thereon for reading and writing data on the at least one magnetic storage medium and an actuator, coupled to the slider, for positioning the slider relative to the at least one magnetic storage medium, wherein the slider further comprises a funnel structure disposed toward a leading edge of the slider for directing air flow to a predetermined location toward a trailing edge of the slider and a collection structure disposed proximate the trailing edge of the slider for gathering air flow at the predetermined location.
In another embodiment of the present invention, another magnetic storage system is provided. This magnetic storage system includes at least one magnetic storage medium, a motor for moving the at least one magnetic storage medium, a slider having a magnetic head mounted thereon for reading and writing data on the at least one magnetic storage medium and an actuator, coupled to the slider, for positioning the slider relative to the at least one magnetic storage medium, wherein the slider further comprises a funnel structure disposed toward a leading edge of the slider for directing air flow to a predetermined location toward a trailing edge of the slider.
In another embodiment of the present invention, another magnetic storage system is provided. This magnetic storage system includes at least one magnetic storage medium, a motor for moving the at least one magnetic storage medium, a slider having a magnetic head mounted thereon for reading and writing data on the at least one magnetic storage medium and an actuator, coupled to the slider, for positioning the slider relative to the at least one magnetic storage medium, wherein the slider further comprises a collection structure disposed proximate the trailing edge of the slider for gathering air flow at the predetermined location.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing an air bearing pad with improved roll angle sigma is provided. The method includes forming a slider surface, forming a funnel structure, using a three etch process, for directing air flow to a predetermined location at a trailing edge of the slider and forming an angled collector structure, using the three etch process, at the trailing edge for collecting air flow.
These and various other advantages and features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and form a part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, its advantages, and the objects obtained by its use, reference should be made to the drawings which form a further part hereof, and to accompanying descriptive matter, in which there are illustrated and described specific examples of an apparatus in accordance with the invention.
Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers represent corresponding parts throughout:
In the following description of the embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration the specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized because structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for providing a three step air bearing with improved fly height performance. The present invention uses a funnel structure and a collection structure for improving dynamic performance. Three etch steps are used in forming the air bearing design.
A conventional slider design starts off with a flat polished surface, from which a patterned ABS is created by a removal process such as etching or ion milling. The ABS is always the top most polished surface, as for example in
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiment of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention be limited not with this detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto.
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Nov 15 2004 | HUANG, WEIDONG | HITACHI GLOBAL STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES NETHERLANDS B V | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 015390 | /0507 | |
Jul 23 2012 | HITACHI GLOBAL STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES NETHERLANDS B V | HGST NETHERLANDS B V | CHANGE OF NAME SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 029341 | /0777 | |
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